Aerial vehicles such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used for performing surveillance, reconnaissance, and exploration tasks for a great variety of military and civilian applications. UAVs may be outfitted with a functional payload, such as sensors for collecting data from the surrounding environment. For example, remote-controlled UAVs, which include fixed-wing aircraft and multi-rotor aircraft, can be used to provide aerial imagery of otherwise inaccessible environments. The design of UAVs involves tradeoffs between vehicle size, weight, portability, payload capacity, energy consumption, and cost.